Essential Facts About Hardwood Everyone Should Know

Hardwood trees lose their leaves and become dormant in the winter in contrast to softwood trees that keep their leaves year round, such as holly trees and pine trees. Some hardwood trees include oak, silver birch, beech and ash. Hardwoods are referred to as Angiosperms while Softwoods are considered Gymnosperms.

Hardwood is characterized by its trademark pores

The composition of hardwoods is more complex than softwoods. The main distinctive feature of hardwood is its pores or vessels that are varied in terms of size, cell wall structure and the shape of the perforation plates.

The many kinds of hardwood trees give hardwood a wide range of characteristics

Hardwood is produced from a number of different trees. Among them are oak, cherry, ash, maple, poplar and birch. Hardwoods come in a variety of colors and textures thanks to the fact that they are harvested from a wide array of trees. The weight of hardwood depends on the source wood - ironwood and mahogany are quite dense while the balsa tree produces light, flexible wood.